France, Karzai want NATO out of Afghanistan faster

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Jan 28, 2012 at 12:01 AMJan 28, 2012 at 1:00 AM

PARIS (AP) — France and Afghanistan agree NATO should speed up by a year its timetable for handing all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance.

Sarkozy also announced a faster-track exit for France, the fourth-largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan — marking a distinct break from previous plans to adhere to the U.S. goal of withdrawing combat forces by the end of 2014. The proposal comes a week after four unarmed French troops were killed by an Afghan soldier described as a Taliban infiltrator.

Sarkozy, alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai — who was in Paris for a previously planned visit — said France had informed the United States of its plan, which will be presented at a Feb. 2-3 meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. He said he would call President Barack Obama about it today.

“We have decided in a common accord with President Karzai to ask NATO to consider a total handing of NATO combat missions to the Afghan army over the course of 2013,” Sarkozy told reporters.

A sense of mission fatigue has been growing among some European contributors to the 10-year allied intervention in Afghanistan. The new idea floated by Sarkozy would accelerate a gradual drawdown of NATO troops that Obama has planned to see through until the end of 2014.

France’s announcement could step up pressure in other European governments like Britain, Italy and Germany, which also have important roles in Afghanistan — even if the United States has the lion’s share by far. But the leaders of those European nations don’t face elections anytime soon, and Sarkozy does.

Sarkozy said France will withdraw combat troops by the end of 2013, a reversal from his repeated commitment in recent months to stick with other allies on a U.S.-led schedule.

At the same time, he said France will restart its training missions of Afghan troops today. After the Jan. 20 shootings, he immediately suspended the training and joint French military patrols with Afghan forces.

In Washington, the White House offered no criticism of Sarkozy’s remarks.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor noted the NATO coalition had agreed to Karzai’s goal of completing the transition to Afghanistan by 2014.

“That transition has begun, and we have made considerable progress toward this goal over the past year, thanks to the gains of the military surge and the development of Afghan security forces,” he said.

And NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said: “We have taken note of the statement.”

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